Holzkirchen full scale dynamic experiments were conducted in the framework of IEA Annex 58 research program with the aim to obtain and apply a high quality experimental dataset for model validation of ... [more ▼]

Holzkirchen full scale dynamic experiments were conducted in the framework of IEA Annex 58 research program with the aim to obtain and apply a high quality experimental dataset for model validation of full scale buildings. A first experiment was conducted in August 2013. Two identical houses were submitted to a side by side experiment, one with blinds up, one with blinds down. That first experience lasted 42 days including an initialization period, a Randomly Ordered Logarithmic Binary Sequence of heat inputs (ROLBS), and a re-initialization followed by a free-float period. A second experiment was conducted in April 2014 in one of the two houses, with higher levels of heating power in the South oriented zones and imposed indoor temperatures in the North oriented zones. Simulations were performed with EES Engineering Equation Solver using simplified RC dynamic models. The discrepancies observed between simulated results and measured data were first explained through a deeper analysis of thermal bridges, a better assessment of solar heat gains and a better assessment of the air duct heat losses. In the second experiment, the results revealed an underestimation of the building transmission heat losses. A candidate explanation might be the air stratification which would enhance heat losses on the ceiling side. A modelization of the upper and lower room air layers was introduced. The resulting simulated indoor temperature profiles were in accordance with the measurements. A complete breakdown of heat losses and heat gains was computed for both houses, using measured temperatures as input data for the simulation. [less ▲]

The objective of the authors is to assess the natural history of carotid artery disease and the role of carotid intervention in preventing ipsilateral stroke. The development of endovascular techniques ... [more ▼]

The objective of the authors is to assess the natural history of carotid artery disease and the role of carotid intervention in preventing ipsilateral stroke. The development of endovascular techniques for correction of carotid artery stenoses made this less invasive technique very popular, with an inherent risk of unregulated overuse by a variety of medical specialists, who are not always well informed on the natural history of carotid artery disease. It re-opened the discussion on the value of carotid endarterectomy for stroke prophylaxis. This ongoing debate offers the opportunity to distil evidence-based guidelines for the management of extracranial carotid artery stenoses. In recent papers, some authors expressed doubts on the validity and general applicability of the results of the pivotal randomised trials of carotid endarterectomy. The excellent results in terms of operative outcome and long term stroke prevention would, according to certain comments, not be attainable in routine practice. Another criticism of carotid endarterectomy is its higher operative morbidity in terms of cranial nerve lesions and myocardial infarctions, compared to endovascular procedures. This consideration is, for some authors, the main reason to espouse carotid artery stenting as a better alternative to carotid endarterectomy. Any evidence supporting this point of view is missing. The supposed equivalence or non-inferiority of carotid artery stenting is purely speculative. The aim of this review paper is to summarize the crude data of carotid surgery trials. The authors aim to answer four questions. For which lesions is carotid endarterectomy most beneficial ? Are the results of randomised carotid surgery trials biased by the selection of patients ? Is operative morbidity, other than stroke, under-estimated ? Is carotid artery stenting safe and efficacious ? An in-depth review with a critical analysis is made of recently published and on-going trials, comparing carotid surgery with percutaneous carotid angioplasty. [less ▲]

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is an alphaherpesvirus responsible for two human diseases: chicken pox and shingles. The virus has a respiratory port of entry. After two successive viremias, it reaches the ... [more ▼]

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is an alphaherpesvirus responsible for two human diseases: chicken pox and shingles. The virus has a respiratory port of entry. After two successive viremias, it reaches the skin where it causes typical lesions. There, it penetrates the peripheral nervous system and it remains latent in dorsal root ganglia. It is still debatable whether VZV persists in neurons or in satellite cells. During latency, VZV expresses a limited set of transcripts of its immediate early (IE) and early (E) genes but no protein has been detected. Mechanisms of reactivation from ganglia have not been identified. However, dysfunction of the cellular immune system appears to be involved in this process. The cell-associated nature of VZV has made it difficult to identify a temporal order of gene expression, but there appears to be a cascade mechanism as for HSV-1. The lack of high titre cell-free virions or recombination mutants has hindered so far the understanding of VZV gene functions. Five genes, ORFs 4, 10, 61, 62, and 63 that encode regulatory proteins could be involved in VZV latency. ORF4p activates gene promoters with basal activities. ORF10p seems to activate the ORF 62 promoter. ORF61p has trans-activating and trans-repressing activities. The major IE protein ORF62p, a virion component, has DNA-binding and regulatory functions, transactivates many VZV promoters and even regulates its own expression. ORF63p is a nuclear IE protein of yet unclear regulatory functions, abundantly expressed very early in infection. We have established an animal model of VZV latency in the rat nervous system, enabling us to study the expression of viral mRNA and protein expression during latency, and yielding results similar to those found in humans. This model is beginning to shed light on the molecular events in VZV persistent infection and on the regulatory mechanisms that maintain the virus in a latent stage in nerve cells. [less ▲]

Citizen science (CS) is a fairly new concept that is rapidly gaining traction in the industrialized democratic world. Although it is often likened to public participation in science, CS takes on many ... [more ▼]

Citizen science (CS) is a fairly new concept that is rapidly gaining traction in the industrialized democratic world. Although it is often likened to public participation in science, CS takes on many forms and orientations. In this presentation, I link CS developments and practices to the advent of new and emerging technologies (NEST), such as bio- and nanotechnologies. I draw on three Flemish cases of CS linked to NEST to illustrate how CS co-evolves with Flemish and European policy shifts towards responsible innovation governance. The cases serve to highlight how various conceptions of CS enact divergent rationales for public involvement in science and promote competing visions of the volatile relationship between science and society. The clash of CS perspectives within and through NEST produces a highly ambiguous innovation context that is simultaneously characterized by excitement and (pre)caution; public and formal expertise; policy dictates and public dialogue; and deterministic and constructionist views of innovation. How implicated actors (policymakers, scientists, citizens, and other stakeholders) make sense of, and deal with, these ambiguities is one of the key challenges CS faces today. [less ▲]

In an interesting and quite exhaustive review on Random Forests (RF) methodology in bioinformatics Touw et al. address-among other topics-the problem of the detection of interactions between variables ... [more ▼]

In an interesting and quite exhaustive review on Random Forests (RF) methodology in bioinformatics Touw et al. address-among other topics-the problem of the detection of interactions between variables based on RF methodology. We feel that some important statistical concepts, such as 'interaction', 'conditional dependence' or 'correlation', are sometimes employed inconsistently in the bioinformatics literature in general and in the literature on RF in particular. In this letter to the Editor, we aim to clarify some of the central statistical concepts and point out some confusing interpretations concerning RF given by Touw et al. and other authors. [less ▲]